One Feinberg School of Medicine alumnus has been linked with money, deception and the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of a growing scandal that has prompted Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to call last week for a statewide grand jury to root out corruption in the Florida political circuit.
Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, Feinberg ’82, was indicted last month by a federal grand jury with 32 counts of fraud after the FBI arrested him and several other public officials and political players in Broward County, Fla. The charges include accusations that the doctor raised $2 million for political contributions, which he proceeded to dip into for personal use.
Mendelsohn has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
For decades, Mendelsohn, 51, has been a prominent ophthalmologist and political activist. Mendelsohn is on a first-name basis with such prominent Florida politicians as former Gov. Jeb Bush and current Gov. Crist. In fact, Mendelsohn fundraised extensively for Crist’s campaign, including holding an event for Crist at his home, according to The Miami Herald.
Dr. William Lissner, an associate professor of opthalmology at Feinberg, said he was shocked and almost did not believe the news of Mendelsohn’s indictment. Lissner, who was one of Mendelsohn’s ophthalmology attending physicians during his medical school residency, said he has not seen Mendelsohn in about 20 years but remembers him well.
“I knew him as perhaps one of the most honest and reliable residents that we had go through our program,” Lissner said. “I thought he would be squeaky clean. I’m amazed.”
Lissner added that, although he had not looked into Mendelsohn’s case, it’s not the first time an individual has committed fraud.
But there are those who make mistakes and there are those who get caught in the wrong situations.
According to the indictment, the eye doctor conned major political contributors into donating hundreds of thousands of dollars, telling them he would perform behind-the-scenes political work. He even told one contributor, businessman Joel Steinger, he could bribe Crist, a promise that turned out to be false.
Also according to the indictment, Mendelsohn used political action committees and corporations to disguise illegal donations to Florida lawmakers, including one lawmaker who received $87,000. In the indictment documents, Mendelsohn was accused of funneling money to his mistress while telling the Internal Revenue Service he donated the money to a public education program that advocated eye cancer screening for kids.
Also among the indictment is a generous donation to Feinberg at a time when Mendelsohn’s son was applying for admission to the medical school. The indictment lists the donation as a quarter of a million dollars.
“We have received contributions from him, but the University does not disclose publicly the amount that is received,” said University Spokesman Al Cubbage, who declined to say more about the matter.
Marla Paul, health sciences editor for University Relations, and several staff members at the Feinberg Office of Development could not give details either. Paul said she did not believe the staff had information regarding the matter.
Dr. Warren Wallace, associate dean for the Feinberg Admissions Office, said the high accreditation of the medical school means political and financial considerations do not play a role in admissions.
“The medical school committee on admission doesn’t factor that into the decision at all,” he said. “We may or may not be aware of those things, but there really is a firewall between the Admissions Office and the Office of Development.”
The admissions school was unable to confirm whether Mendelsohn’s son was admitted, but the Herald reported he was accepted at the University of Florida medical school in 2008 with a recommendation from Gov. Crist, indicating ties between the governor and Mendelsohn prior to the latter’s arrest. Mendelsohn’s son, who attended NU until 2008, was allegedly admitted to the University of Florida medical school without the backing of the school’s Medical Selection Committee and without an MCAT score, which was required for admissions, according to a 2008 report from The Gainesville Sun.
As to whether NU plans on keeping the donations secured from Mendelsohn, both Cubbage and the Office of Development declined to comment.
